I love these kinds of episodes: the episodes that just say “screw it” to consistency, and instead go on with their own style based on the vision of someone on the episode staff. It may look weird, but I find that it gives each episode so much personality. I really encourage creators to put i their own styles to spice up the story they’re animating. It’s so much more interesting than the same thing over and over again.

This episode’s animation may not have been as crisp as usual, and there were a lot of distorted faces, but yet the animation was really good. It was full of creativity: the camera angles brought out so much in the characters, and there were plenty of scenes that had movements and actions that are very uncommon in conventional animation. It’s not just the scene at the beginning of that Queerat blowing up, but also where Satoru gets cut on his forhead, the scene at the end of the episode with the slime. The backgrounds looked utterly gorgeous inthsi episode as well, and what also caught my eye were the scenes that focused on touching. They had a strange focus in this episode (not to mention the near-sex scene was stunning).

So let me check for a moment who was behind this episode… and everything suddenly becomes clear: Shigeyasu Yamauchi was behind this episode. Holy crap, this guy is just amazing. I’m not sure whether I want him to do another series, or to keep doing episodes like this, because he is both incredible as an episode director and a series director, bringing out the best in the characters and not caring for conventions at all. This is the first time since Casshern however, that I’ve seen him on an episode that was intended for a more mature audience. Seriously, this is where this guy belongs. His work on shounen shows and romance series is nice and all, but this episode was just incredible, and this is where his style shines like no other.Rating:6,5/8 (Amazing)

40 Responses

While I found the artistry/imagery very appealing, I actually didn’t like the animation in this episode. It was different, to be sure, but it movements were so inconsistent and the perspectives so wonky during the more intense moments that I just found it off-putting overall.

Regardless, the content was some of the best yet. The use of their sex drives to further reinforce the internal conflict of their own reality was just brilliant, and the lore keeps getting better and better.

I think this episode was… rushed. It was too ambitious and they didn’t have enough time to polish it as much as they wanted. While I can appreciate what they were trying to do, it just wasn’t there yet….

The backgrounds shifted from highly detailed, to really rough (you could see the photoshop rough brush strokes), often within the same background, which reinforces the idea that this was rushed. The animation was also looking like they were going for really rough but fluid, but didn’t manage to get it to the level they wanted. The shading on the characters was also changing from completely flat, to weird CG shading.

And to top all that, the pacing was a bit off too, with a lot of inconsistencies here and there that I don’t think were intentional.

All in all, this was episode where they wanted to do something unique, but they got half-way there. Still, it wasn’t a bad episode, but I’m guessing it will be one of those were the DVD/Bluray version is going to be different.

This episode was really cool. It’s not often that you get that sense of complete despair in anime. They are completely stripped of power, dumped in a situation they have no idea how to handle, trapped in a maze below the ground, with a bunch of crazy monster rats that wants to kill them… or do god nows what to them.

The scene with the monster rat wielding the spear was pretty intense. In these kind of shows you can often tell what’s going to happen next, but I honestly had no idea if they were going to kill the guy or not… it was real tense.

Couldn’t disagree more. The direction in this episode was horrible. I couldn’t tell what was going on half the time, because the cuts were disjointed and random. The animation was also terrible, especially the way they re-used the same shot like three times on separate occasions of the queerat roaring. I was really disappointed and hope the production values return for the rest of the show. Thank god this guy is only doing one episode.

I don’t know if it was just me being tired, but it just seemed kinda jumpy like flow was off or something. Like you see the monk block the explosion, then he’s dead and evaporated apparently. Or They are being chased by queerrats like RIGHT behind them, fall into a gourge for what seems like a really long time before the rats catch up to them, then all of the sudden they are in a cage. Just seemed like really weird flow to me.

Yep this was for me by far the biggest issue this ep. How could Rijin not save them all from the blast perfectly, I would’ve thought he’d be sick at using PK which is a seemingly limitless power? Then yeah, the rats just stop chasing all of a sudden, I dunno, the pace was just weird and was for me the most jarring part of the episode.

The animation was crap, as were the altered character design, and the horrible horrible direction. You really couldn’t tell what was going on 90% of the time. This Yamauchi is a hack, and I hope A-1 corrects this episode for the bluray released because it has poisoned the entire series. You giving it the highest grade of all the episodes till now was almost expected, really.

I agree with the negative sentiment. Totally destroyed my enthusiasm for the show, characters annoyed me, animation was offputting and there were too many closeups. Nice color palette though. Didn’t feel mysterious like previous episodes, just cheap.

Like many others I hated it. I can understand using that style for an entire series (with a few fixes to the facial animations here and there), but for a single episode it was simply off-putting and annoying. The characters seemed almost completely different, the story was disjointed and sometimes hard to follow, as mentioned above the facial animation was terrible, and I was too distracted with all these little issues that I wasn’t able to enjoy the episode near as much as I KNOW I would have if it was the same as the others.

It seems like with a lot of things I agree with your tastes psgels, but whenever I feel strongly about something you almost always have the complete opposite opinion. It can be quite frustrating.

Well, whether I hated this episodes style or not, at least you enjoyed it. Happy someone wasn’t put off by it.

While the experimental animation may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I found it well suited to the story in this episode alone – dark, confusing, morbid and scary. The writers and creators of this show have perfected their calvinball formula in building the world, making it richer with each passing episode.

Shinsekai Yori continues to be the best show of the season.

Psgels I apologize for trolling earlier; I just cannot resist when it comes to craptacular shows and their defenders.

Eh, it’s one thing for the the animation style to get the feelings of “dark, confusing, morbit and scary” across to the viewers, it’s another when the animation style itself becomes what’s confusing instead, and IMO this episode is closer to the latter instead of the former.

Also, apologizes for trolling, then launches another parting shot in the same sentence? couldn’t resist indeed :rolleyes:

As much as I respect this style, it really screwed up scenes for me, at least in terms of explaining what the hell happened. The beginning was absolute confusion, as were other major points of the episode – it could have been toned down in some places.

Still, it’s nice to change things up now and again. It’s something anime is very good with.

Lots of close-ups make the presentation too cheap, plus Yamauchi’s style is characterized by unconventional framing. A common complaint is that the camera tends to focus on the wrong things – close ups of elbows, forearms, feet, etc. – particularly during action scenes.

In terms of art and animation, consistency is pretty loose, with the rationale that standards should be relaxed to show more of an animator’s individuality. Not all key animators are necessarily great illustrators since their real job is to depict interesting motion (with today’s schedules, the reality is that key animation is often rough, and other people are hired to clean it up. Some of it may look like a child’s scribbling, but that rough work details how the models are to -move-). Sometimes they intentionally warp character art to see what they can get away with, as well as to plant their signature on a cut. Typically, the animation director redraws the characters to spec, but in some cases, the director tells him/her to minimize the changes.

At any rate, Yamauchi is a legend. He mentored greats like Junichi Sato and Kunihiko Ikuhara, so he certainly knows what he’s doing. However, he has been experimenting with a new style (starting with Casshern Sins – guess it’s now a mark of -his- individuality) that not everyone likes.

I think this episode’s animation was horrendous. It reminded me of the low budget work they did on Birdy the Mighty: Decode:02. To call this a ‘style’ and say you like it is laughable (personal opinion, not a jab at you.) The people producing this are professionals, and to take one episode, which provides insight into Queer Rats and their organizational structure, and crap on it, is kind of sad. Sure Queer Rats are ugly, but that doesn’t mean the episode about them had to be.

Moreover, it technically is a style. It just doesn’t match the styles that have become prevalent in modern anime. To you it looks low-budget, to others it looks creative.

Sometimes the budget is blown on something other than in-between animation and CGI shading. Sometimes, the budget for a single episode is so low they have to bring in a pro who can salvage the situation.

Birdy, for instance, clearly ran out of money in season two for a few scenes, so I agree that it was “low budget”. And yet, I was even MORE impressed by what they pulled off, and wish it got the budget of a KyoAni show.

And what about Bakemonogatari? Was it “laughable” too, or does it get a pass? It’s a fine line, and certainly not worth insulting someone for circumstances.

Commenting on someone’s subjective view by calling them stupid is kind of out of line. I’m entitled to my own opinion. By saying it was laughable means I don’t agree with his viewpoint, I’m not saying he’s wrong in viewing it as such.

There were episodes in Birdy the Mighty where the animation wasn’t up to par with the rest, the high octane scenes where there’s a lot of motion. While I understand what they were trying to achieve, my subjective view tells me that I don’t like it, and if they did pay more for that kind of work, I don’t think it paid off. Here’s an example: http://indiegamedevs.com/images/screenshots/btm-subjective-low-quality.jpg

#1: Calling someone’s opinion “laughable” is no better than being called “stupid” for having your own opinion. You’re basically implying that you’re laughing at their opinion. So getting defensive when someone in turn dismissed your own opinion as stupid.. well, you really have no ground to stand on here. Online, people interpret words in the worst possible way, especially when they detect criticism. If you didn’t realize that, then I hope you do now.

#2: As for Birdy, some people were too busy looking at the unique framing, highly kinetic storyboarding, and keen use of contrast to focus on sloppy in-betweens and a few bland backgrounds in dark scenes. I’ve seen amazingly smooth animation that was still so bland I didn’t care that it was painstakingly in-betweened. But Birdy made me WANT to see a full-budget realization of its attempt.. in my books that’s a win. It was memorably different compared to boringly smooth.

#3: Some people just LIKE that kind of brutal, raw, uncertain animation when they’re watching a brutal, raw, uncertain scene. Some people like Picasso, without knowing anything about fine art or cubism. Birdy’s no Picasso, of course, but there’s an undeniable emotional edge to this that some people experience, whether or not you think that was the intent of the director to cover up other flaws (I happen to think it was, and that it was a brilliant choice).

Oh, I understand. I just hope you understand what I meant, too. This whole thing could have been avoided if you said what you meant frankly, and not in a way that would easily be interpreted as an insult by others. If you don’t care, fine.

I don’t mind the art style. Given that Saki and Satoru were about to do something, I think the art was needed to make them look a bit mature and not so young. I do miss the old one, but thankfully, it’s going to be back in the next episode.

My problem is the faces though. Maria sounded like she was screaming, but her mouth hardly moved. It happened with the other characters too. There was a lot of random smiling too. It took me out of the episode and left me annoyed, instead of interested in what was happening.

In this case I agree with your assessment, psgels, as I am also for the unconventional change in style to particularly depict emotion in this episode aside from others.

There were some animations that were rough and poor, but it didn’t bother me so much.

As this is your favourite (rated, which for you isn’t always the same) episode of New World, I’d have to agree in this case: This episode actually did something beside the regular, and Satoru’s preceding anoying character in regular social functions really worked for him in this episode. I wasn’t distracted at all by the dialog in this episode as I have been in the past, which effectively eliminates one of my only large criticisms of the show.

It seems Satoru actually found himself (rather rediscovered himself) in this new world they ventured into .. it’s as if he was unknowingly frustrated by the boring and suffocating sterile controlled life back in the settlements and was expressing that indirectly by being annoying and obnoxious, but once he got his chance to experience a world filled with thrills and danger he actually starts enjoying it and starts acting differently (note that he so far seemed the one most interested in learning stories about the outer world, its creatures and dangers) … this gives the change in his personality in this ep some deeper meaning.

I did like it, I loved the camera angels and I enjoyed trying to figure out what was going on. Much o Mini mysteries with this world and I can’t wait to see more. My hat’s off to the animators for being so bold and initiative. So nice to see something different and new.

I thought this was the best episode since the first one. Things were a bit disjointed and felt like you were being jolted around, but i feel like that really helped to convey the mood of the episode. The kids are in a strange and unfamiliar place, they just heard a rather long and confusing story from the past, and have lost their power. to that effect I think the animation really put us in the children’s shoes.

I got bad feelings through the first half of the chapters. The animation or direction (I don’t know who’s guilty) broke the rythm from past chapters but in a bad way. I think it’s because I hate action scenes which use only close-ups.
I know this kind of episodes should be awesome but this one felt wrong. An undeserved high note, as it was painful to watch for me rather than enjoyable. The scenes could have been done really really really better.

I think people are really overreacting with regards to the style change this episode .. for me it just took few moments to get used to but the effect that i think they intended was achieved .. it really gave the episode as a whole a surreal, weird, disjointed feeling .. the whole episode felt like a weird dream (specially with its sexual undertones, bizarre gigantic six-breasted Queerat queen, and dynamic camera work).

It was like those dreams that you wake up from all sweaty and saying “what the hell did i just dream about !!!” …. you try to piece it all together but it feels disjointed, weird and surreal .. that’s the feeling they wanted to invoke .. and seeing we are back to the other style next episode i can say i’m 70% sure this style was meant the way it is to get that feeling through not because of technical difficulties or low budget .. it’s also meant to emphasize the uncomfortable shift in the characters life from their confined, sterile life before in the settlements into a wild, bizarre and crazy world.

Well, not all people dream when they sleep, and not all those who have dreams have vivid and crazy dreams .. it differs from person to person .. and this “what the hell did I dream about” thing didn’t happen to me more than two or three times in my entire life XD

About Yamauchi, I hope you know that his most famous work is Saint seiya (the best episodes of the serie, and 3 of the 5 movies) and the two DBZ movie Gogeta and Broly.
And Morio Hatano (Saint seiya Omega) and Tatsuya Nagamine (Heartcatch Precure) were his disciple.

I agree with what some of the people said about the episode feeling rushed and lacking clarity, but the word that you said that struck me was that it had personality. It’s so true~ SO much personality in this episode. I feel like they spent a lot of that thoroughness in the opening episodes and that it’s sort of fun that what started out as a very slow show has gotten so quick and intense.

Oh, no wonder I felt a strong Casshern vibe! Love this guy. The episode did feel a little choppy here and there, but I didn’t mind it. Just another style I can appreciate.
Also, the whole sexual tension scene was so well done.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I enjoy TONS of subtitled stuff, but I have to admit...sometimes to re-winding and pausing when the dialogue gets heavy or complex.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I know Aico has a shit dub but sometimes I find myself watching in English and feeling lazy because its easier to watch more now that way.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I used to be able to marathon stuff so easily but now I can't do the 12 episodes in one go thing like I used to.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Something goes off, even after 30 minutes to an hour "Shit....have to see if something update...like NOW....can't stop myself"

Kaiser-Eoghan
I'm not the kind of person who messes with their phone in a cinema, but at home somehow theres this moments where I just get this distracting urge to keep checking some site, E-mail, snacking, going to the bathroom too often or lie down, look at someones doujin/smut art or write something all when I'm supposed to be doing something else.

Kaiser-Eoghan
What I mean is, I'll be reading/watching something and its not boring at all, maybe even interesting, but I can't stop pausing sometimes for...reasons and it takes me longer to get through something because of this.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I know this is pretty much an effect of living in this generation but, for those of you who experience this, how do you guys deal with "distraction." Sometimes this annoys me....

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Amagi: I'm evasive of "non-old man pubs" at night , particularly late at night, I don't want to come across any "characters" I'd prefer not to encounter.

Amagi
Well it's the reason why I never drink alcohol at home. Even if I were depressed it wouldn't change my mood so it's pointless.

Amagi
I can reach a point where I feel like dreaming but none of my character traits change. Guess it always varies depending on the person. Same with my best friend, he's just get tired when drunk, but nothing else ever happens.

Amagi
@Kaiser: Same here. Often go to pubs with friends at night but not only do I not want to ever get my mind "altered" by alcohol, it doesn't even work it seems. Or maybe it's the will or that I am just not influenceable.

KTravlos
I have been drunk, I do not like it. I do like being tipsy, but hate drunk. I generally like beer because it does not muck me up as bad as harder drinks (ouzo, raki, and I absolutely despise tequila). The first time in my life I celebrated Valentine's Day was this year. Have to say that it was not too bad.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Baccardi and Vodka were the only forms of alcohol I felt didn't especially taste "off" to me.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I also dislike Valentines day for the schmaltz, insincerity, fakeness around it and the idea there has to be "a day" for it and the captilization, commercialization of emotions.

Kaiser-Eoghan
In all my thirty one years I have never been drunk and never intend to, I dislike the idea of surrendering my mind to alcohol and feeling "altered". If anything you would be safer doing marijuana.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Its really just a day off or an excuse for 13 year olds to get drunk.

Kaiser-Eoghan
He was Welsh aswell and there weren't exactly that much snakes in Ireland to begin with.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: Its technically St Patricks day now yes. Not that I personally care for it, I got going to the parade out of my system over a decade ago, never liked the oirishness and cliches/commercialisim around it, in the end it just makes it impossible to get around the city, plus the weather is so poor its pointless going out anyway.

SuperMario
I saw some Irish flags around my area. Is it St Patrick day today?

Kaiser-Eoghan
I did listen to some of aico's dub, I don't think any of these people are experienced or professional voice actors.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Anon: B the beginning was too much of an awkward genre mix. I was content to just ignore aico because I'm not a fan of Bones as a studio but you're the second person to say it reminds them of some old ova.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Anon: I enjoyed the combination of old and new with devilman, it even being able to eclipse the ovas, aswell as the experimental visual style and transgression, and as you said, the surprising emotional involvement.

Anonymous1889060
So i finish, B the Beginning, Aico, Devilman( What a feel's ride). and I must say that they're far from perfect, but they remaind me of 90, early 2000 anime, that i loved so much and that is a big plus. Today's anime doesnt feel quite the same in my opinion, what are your thoughts.. Now im getting excited to watch SWORD GAI!.

Kaiser-Eoghan
While obvious an anime series, After the rain often feels like a live action film.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: Actually that does remind me, I never saw Pola X by Carax.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Miike is extremely hit or miss, but I loved how Audition minipulated the viewer with its slower first half before really taking off, most of Ichi the killer is just a perversely funny black comedy to me.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Chang-dong-Lee is refreshingly less melodramatic then other Korean directors.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Benh Zeitlin is one I'm not familiar with, but it turns out he did beasts of southern wild and I enjoy magical realism.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: I wasn't aware Carax was still alive, some sgements of holy motors work, others don't , lovers on the bridge was a more accessible film I recall.

SuperMario
@Fluca: okay. Kinda fixed it. I don't think we have a spoiler code so I just changed your spoiler into white color

Kaiser-Eoghan
Every time I here the title Aico, it makes me think its some kind of eco/environmental thing, which I know it isn't.

Kaiser-Eoghan
The fate/extra Alice character (I looked her up) looks like she belongs in rozen maiden.

Kaiser-Eoghan
The modern Japanese directors can be prolific Miike and Sono pump out more than one film a year.

Kaiser-Eoghan
And it shows, that Our little sister adaptation, that live action adaptations CAN sometimes work.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Quick fact, that action crime josei anime, Bananna fish, coming out in April is based on a manga by the writer of Our little sister's manga.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: The interest being, how he would handle something so removed from his usual style.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: Actually re-checking, its next week, The third murder , which seems very different, a courtroom drama with some philosophy in it.

SuperMario
I really enjoy Our Little Sister, but I think mainly because the film is entirely within my comfort zone (Slice of life manga material, about the life of these girls)

SuperMario
@Kaiser: Which one will you see? He now directs one movie per year so it's hard to keep track some times. I really like his style and I reckon people who like slice-of-life will enjoy his movies

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: Hirokazu Koreeda has a new film out, seeing it on Friday, I've only seen Our little sister by him.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Anon: I essentially deleted the rest of the episodes off my computer after struggling through the first, like most, maybe moreso I got very turned off by the genre mixing. Thats not to say that I'm against genre mixes though, but they have to be weird, I mean really weird.

Amagi
I am not a fan of breather episodes, something most modern anime are pretty keen to insert. I hate breaking of climaxes in order to show three SoL-, fanservice- or formularic monster of the week episodes before the main plot progresses further. When I want SoL I go watch a full fleshed SoL. Aico is pretty straight forward and kinda easy to watch in one go in that regard. Nothing really new though.

Amagi
Just finished Aico. Had a few downsides like most series but I enjoyed it. Felt like a classic scifi anime you'd see in the 90s.

AidanAK47
@Anon, I watched it. Though it was mixed but a decent enough watch. It really felt like two shows hastily combined into one. Been thinking of writing a review for it and Aico once I finish Aico.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Nice animation showcase aswell though I don't know how long this will really stay i my memory, though it was nice.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Although it relies on being fairly convenient, linear and simplistic, that Mary witch flower anime movie is at its strongest when visually drawing the viewer into its world and wherever it shows spectacle. I'd say its adequately charming. Fair enough.

KTravlos
Hakata sounds like Gangasta. A series I enjoyed, despite its massive flaws

KTravlos
thanks guys. I will probably give it a try. I am also watching the Castlevania anime finally. Not really worth it for me. Also I watched the first episode of Garo Vanishing Line. I can a say it was fun.

Anonymous1881860
@Anon1880687 - I watched a couple of episodes. Feels like a foreign series. Since it doesn't feel like an anime made in Japan. I did like the group of revengers seem to have more personality than the main leads which insinuate chemistry but doesn't go deep into it. I don't remember if they explain why one of the leads chooses to dress like a girl. Though at least they give him/her a male voice.

SuperMario
@KTravlos: me. Not impressed. First few eps were alright with a set of bold characters, but later the lot just goes around in circle for these characters acting cool and cool rules the day. I dropped it after episode 6

Amagi
@Vonter: It gets more serious later although I agree it's better starting this without any knowledge about the series, like I did. I just loved the tragicomical jokes and the obsessive nostalgia Bojack suffered from and neither needed nor expected any drama but it was pretty good when it happened nonetheless.

AidanAK47
@Anon, Not really. They just wanted to find some justification for the trashy aspects for a show they liked rather than accept it.And while I understand how obnoxious it can be, there are times when people complain about a show doesn't explain itself and then get pissed off when you try to give an explanation.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: From what I hear, while it does have comedy, by the second season not only does it improve, but its more of a drama.

Vonter
I've been watching Bojack Horseman. It's good, yet watching certain clips before the actual series made me expect a darker show. I know it's a cartoon, but some jokes reduced the impact of certain events. Though I suppose it's meant to be uplifting and not just mean spirited. It gave me some Nier and Aku no Hana vibes.

KTravlos
We watched the first three episodes of B the Beginning. I must say I enjoyed it. We will see how the rest goes.

Kaiser-Eoghan
For example, doing a rant of a film will only communicate to your intellectual friends and people already in the know, the working class guy you want to inform with your societal/political/religious ideas , was probably watching a western back in the 60s/70s, just incorporate the themes into that while not sacrificing the films appeal

Kaiser-Eoghan
With regards to pretension, I think that comes into play when you have a director trying to communicate ideas but ends up becoming ridiculously, overly polemical, its better to communicate thought provoking ideas through something straight, while also remaining some distance.

Amagi
I think it often happens when authors create things on the fly, at least with manga. You can see terrible forms of comedy/SoL -> drama/scifi switches among webcomics, which are usually done by "amateurs", some of them being pretty young. It's always good when a series hints or blatantly shows what it is during its first episodes/chapters. Not talking about mysteries but genres.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Usually for dramatic comedy to work I feel it needs to let the viewer know early on that the story will feature both....the sudden drama thing generally is a result where a funny film needs an ending and a story needs to be fabricated hastily.

Amagi
Melodrama is like genre mixes. If it does work it can be something special, but it's really hard to write and most directors just lack the talent to do so. It's like a comedy that turns serious at some point. It CAN work, but there aren't many cases where that happens. Usually they're just alienating their comedy fans and the drama fans weren't there to begin with.

Kaiser-Eoghan
If the mekodramatics can properly cast a spell on a viewer, I am open to it if the writers strong enough but in general, when I'm watching something, the best stories are the ones where the atmosphere is so assure I forget I'm watching fiction.

Amagi
I know they just want to make their audience feel good but I think it's a terrible moral or idea. Especially since most people know at least one person they loved that died from such illnesses. No matter what they did or tried to do to overcome it.

Amagi
Yeah exactly. Honestly most cancer movies are terrible I think. I also hate these series in which the main character, I don't know, wins a match for his cancer-ridden love and then s/he recovers.

Amagi
@Kaiser: Not using music can be a great method to illustrate serious moments I think.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I've spoken to my father about this, who recovered from cancer years ago, those kind of phrases irritate him, hr said "Yeah....you don't battle, fight cancer, you fucking suffer through it, then if your lucky you get through it"

Amagi
I mean, again, I loved Madoka but I see how this method they used is kinda cheap. It's still better than many other series of that type. I am aready looking forward to see how terrible Magical Girl Site is, the trailer looks like a psycho face trash fest.

Kaiser-Eoghan
The really annoying thing is when some of these docs and dramas use phrases like "her battle, her FIGHT, her BRAVE fight against cancer.

Amagi
I enjoyed Madoka but I know what you mean. I think I will never rewatch Madoka but I love to see certain Tutu- and Sailor Moon scenes from time to time. I think Madoka is kinda similar to netflix shows or code geass in that regard. It always ends with some evil cliffhanger to hype you up for the next episode and it throws in one shocking revelation after another for the same reason.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Amagi: On the music thing, some documentaries do this. What I loved about Shoah and night and fog is that the directors showed the landscapes/buildings where it happened and never used music.

Amagi
I mean I know how bad ww2 and other things were. I really don't need rain, sad music and lots of actor tears to realize that. It reminds me of the laughing tracks sitcoms have that tell you when you have to laugh. And newer movies have exaggerated effects as well, not a fan of that. I rather see well thought-out content than a bomb-show. Not to mention that I hate sensory overload.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Its also kind of why I can NEVER look at hentai of something I enjoyed when I was young.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I grew up with Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailormoon and looking into lighthearted mahou shoujo , I don't mind nanoha and tutu, but there was always the feeling madoka was corrupting something.

Kaiser-Eoghan
On dark moe, I've stopped with lol edgy when criticizing Madoka, I realize that its the equivalent to Batman porn to me, the idea of that level of a slant on a genre I went for when I was a kid.

Amagi
I agree. I was interested in Schindler's List when I was ~12 or so because it was something new for me. Nowadays I realize it's not really my thing, there are many western war shows that come of as too "pathetic" to me, they feel too much like, well, Hollywood blockbusters (which is what they actually are) than a serious commetary on war or so.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Amagi: Thats the trouble I have with Hollywood , a film about Autism like Rain man or a mental illness movie like I am Sam, these American movies never seem real and the depictions feel so hammy and inaccurate.

Kaiser-Eoghan
On the dark moe trope, rather than throwing out words on it, its the tonal inconsistency that gets to me.

Amagi
Yeah the opposite is bad as well. A show can have good intentions, even lots of good ideas but still have a bad execution.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Schindler's list is a great example of this, personally I think popcorn drama/oscar baiting the holocaust is somewhat distasteful and the film comes off as comparitively ingenuinely when I've seen a couple of eastern war films by people who actually lived during the war.

Amagi
And "egdy" is very much about the tone a series has and not so much the actual content. Therefore it has to be explained as well, a dark series, even one with lots of blood, isn't necessarily edgy, it depends on the stance the autor has, whom we're supposed to root for and why, how characters and scenes are depicted and the overall tone, moral and so on.

Kaiser-Eoghan
On another note, to go back to "critic proof", this is a terrible practice because it allows people to take an easy topic for a story and it become forbidden to give a bad review.

Amagi
Yeah, "badly written" for example doesn't mean anything unless you're gonna illustrate how it is badly written by showing and analyzing examples from the show and explain why the writing for these scenes is weak

Kaiser-Eoghan
Thats why I like here, people actually talk about a show in some detail, even the reviewers.

Kaiser-Eoghan
An non-backed up opinion when I'm looking for a show to follow doesn't tell me anything, how am I meant to know to watch something based on a single word or sentence?

Kaiser-Eoghan
I suppose its less of a case of buzzwords and more how people don't explain anything . The reason I say I have to do a 300 word review or long opinion on something is because I feel buzzwords and one word/one sentence opinions are un-helpful.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Amagi: And I think thats certainly an issue, the lines being bkurred between shitposting/trolling and genuine critique .

Amagi
I mean there are a lot of badly written shows out there or shows that are too tryhard, but people often use these phrases as buzzwords for everything and don't state reasons for using these terms for a specific show. I see tons of "egdy" posts as soon as a series is a bit darker than the usual harem and it's hard to distinguish these pieces from actual shitposts or trolls.

Amagi
It sounds better to say that I don't like something because it's too egdy, too stupid and pure pandering (when it's about moe) or "badly written" than saying that I can't relate to certain settings, characters and so one or that I've seen a certain idea too often.

Amagi
@Kaiser: I think many people just don't want to admit that disliking a series is usually a subjective thing. They rather want to credit their own intelligence for not liking it.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Tetsuo , bubblegum crisis, cyber city oedo are other good ones as was goku midnight eye.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: It was the rebellion bit that got me worried if they were planning some sort of follow up.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I, robot eh? I remember that one, I don't mind Will Smith but he's not convincing in a serious role.

Vonter
The replicants preparing for war, took me out of the movie, since it was delivered like a footnote for your action blockbuster, kinda like how they ripped apart I, Robot.

Vonter
Still I got reminded why it inspired manga and anime like Akira, Cowboy Bebop and many others. There's a lot of atmosphere, and like I said, the visual storytelling is very strong. Since there were a lot of double meanings to several shots early in in the film. The egomaniac Jesus wannabe villain felt very odd, especially his speechifying.

Kaiser-Eoghan
But I'll have to see it again with that extended cut when I'm less the victim of hype.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Theres a certain idea of....they made an OKAY blade runner sequel, it wasn't allowed to be bad or great.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: Its a case really of, you had a four star film! Then turned it into a three star!

Kaiser-Eoghan
Then again I am interested when Denis will be going back to his arthouse films instead.

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Star Crossed Anime Blog

Featured Posts

At this point I can safely say that I will enjoy whatever direction Ameagari will wrap up. It has transformed from a merely love story between two adorable individuals with a huge age gap into something much deeper, more refine and more poetic. This episode is another stellar showcase in a way it feels entirely […]

It’s a neat (and cruel) trick Violet Evergarden pulled this week. I always have a soft spot for mature undertone story from a point of view of kids (that’s why I am always fond of To Kill a Mockingbird, for instance) so this story is right within my wheelhouse. Violet Evergarden’s melodrama approach can be […]

Another episode of Universe that delves into friendship issues. While I can see many hiccups along the way, I can still say the ride is worth it. Not that I think this episode stands out, rather that I don’t know exactly how I feel about this episode’s resolution. This episode features my favorite girl, a […]

Thus ends the Nursery Rhyme two episode arc and that certainly was more confusing than it needed to be. The fight was once again, anticlimactic and rather lacking strategy wish as well. I mean our protagonists kept talking like they had a plan but it pretty much amounted to just climbing the tower and fighting […]

Today on Darling in the Franxx, death flags averted. I admit that throughout this episode I fully prepared myself to see Goro die. The signs were everywhere with him confirming to Hiro that he was in love with Ichigo, the mission leaving him stranded with a trolosuar, the hair clip as well as the base […]

Ugh, I was lucky I ate before that first story started. Not so much scary but very disgusting with the oily dirty house and that brother with the pimples…ugh. This story is more gross out factor than actual horror as there isn’t really a plot besides this girl living with her horrible family in a […]

These past few episodes I have been rather critical of Mahoutsukai, and rightfully so I would say. The new characters are lackluster, the plot/stories dull. A 7/10 series at best. It is with this mindset, this frame of reference, that I can see “As you sow, so shall you reap” is the best episode of […]

If I haven’t known beforehand that Violet Evergarden has 14 episodes, I would easily assume that this is the conclusion of Violet Evergarden. And in some ways, there is a strong sense of closure in this latest episode. This last two episodes have their full attention to the core development of Violet, that includes an […]

We take a side road from our main romance between Tachibana and Kondou in this last two episodes, instead focus on each own friendship, short story Rashomon and pimple. Not that I consider Ameagari anything less than stellar, the show moves with confident pace with so much lovely subtle details. After the unforgettable event where […]

Latest Reviews

Wooper: Mary and the Witch’s Flower is the first feature film from Studio Ponoc, which spun off from Studio Ghibli in early 2015. Given Ghibli’s towering reputation, the bar was high for this inaugural flick, which recently made its way to U.S. theaters, giving Lenlo and I a chance to see it on the big […]

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I was quite excited for Apocrypha and in the so called year of Fate adaptations, it looked to be the crown jewel. Sadly, partly due to lacking adaption and the source lacking in areas, this anime turned out to be not quite the jewel I thought it would be. It’s hard to call this a […]

One of the surprises of the year was to see the return of Kino’s Journey, a very well regarded and more unique anime among those deemed classic. Many, myself included, were very much looking forward to the return of Kino and her talking Motorrad. Though due to some factors this series doesn’t quite live up […]

Girls’ Last Tour falls within my favorite new trend that emerging the anime medium over the last decade: a dark moe anime. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where the human race has almost extinct, our two girls wandering around the world in their kettenkrad looking for food and shelter. If it sounds a bit bleak […]

It would not be an exaggeration to say that my favorite type of anime is the political-military epic. This comes partly out of my profession, I study war and politics, but also my hobby, as military and political history is something I enjoy. When it comes to anime there is a clear sub-category that can […]

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In the weeks leading up to the summer 2017 season, Ballroom e Youkoso was one of the most buzzed-about new series. Produced by the Production I.G. team responsible for the smash hit Haikyuu!!, and set to air on Amazon’s brand new Anime Strike service, the series had no shortage of promotion or hype behind it. […]